When you’ve mastered the fundamentals, what comes next? This workshop is for chief academic officers ready to make the transition from management to leadership in their roles. Our workshop coordinators will cover cross-role collaboration in strategic planning, professional development opportunities, and balancing your institution’s pressing immediate needs while planning for long-term success.
Join us as we discuss new approaches and perspectives to positively shape the next stage of your career and the future of your institution.
Workshops require pre-registration as space is limited. The registration fee covers materials, meals, and refreshments. To add a workshop to an existing Institute registration, please contact conferences@cic.edu. Fee: $200
Workshop Coordinators
Lauren Bowen
Provost, Juniata College (PA)
Lauren Bowen, provost and professor of politics at Juniata College (PA) since 2014, served the college as acting president during the Spring 2024 semester. As provost, she has been instrumental in the renovation of the academic library and led a comprehensive revision of general education and graduation requirements to emphasize local and global engagement, ethical discernment, and understanding how knowledge is created and valued. Bowen also has worked collaboratively with the Juniata faculty to design and implement new programs and majors. Under her leadership, the college has received research and program grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and foundations including the National Science Foundation, the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Bowen came to Juniata from John Carroll University (OH), where she served as associate academic vice president for student learning initiatives and diversity. In 2000, she was an American Council on Education fellow at the College of Wooster (OH). Bowen’s research interests have focused on judicial decision making and implementation, legislative-judicial interaction at the state level, and affirmative action issues.
Celia Cook-Huffman
Provost and Dean of the Faculty, Allegheny College (PA)
Celia Cook-Huffman joined Allegheny College (PA) as provost and dean of the faculty in February 2026. She has more than 35 years of experience in higher education, distinguished by her commitment to liberal arts learning, student success, faculty development, inclusive excellence, and the development of vibrant learning communities. Before her current appointment, Cook-Huffman served as vice president for academic affairs at Manchester University (IN), her alma mater, from 2020 to 2025. Prior to returning to Manchester, she spent three decades on the faculty at Juniata College (PA), where she also held the position of associate director of the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies. As assistant provost at Juniata from 2015 to 2020, Cook-Huffman guided multiple campus-wide initiatives focused on student retention and success. Her teaching and research explore conflict dynamics across interpersonal, organizational, inter-group, and international contexts, emphasizing both the productive and destructive roles of conflict in human communities and the strategies necessary for effective response.
Workshop Facilitators
- Jeffery Frick, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, Washington and Jefferson College (PA)
- Peter Holbrook, Provost and Chief Operating Officer, Tiffin University (OH)
- Debora Johnson-Ross, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, Wartburg College (IA)
- Leanne Neilson, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs , California Lutheran University
Workshop Schedule
7:15–8:00 a.m.
Breakfast
8:00–8:10 a.m.
Welcome
Christoph Kunkel, CIC Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff, CIC
8:10–8:45 a.m.
Introductions – Sharing your “Why”
“It does not matter how long you are spending on the earth, how much money you have gathered or how much attention you have received. It is the amount of positive vibration you have radiated in life that matters.”
Amit Ray
8:45–9:45 a.m.
Managing Down, Across, and Up: Working Across Multiple and Complex Systems
9:45–10:00 a.m.
Break
10:00–10:45 a.m.
The Landscape of Contemporary Higher Education – Table Top Conversations
10:45–11:30 a.m.
Organizational Culture and Leadership: Lessons from the Field
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Lunch
12:30–1:30 p.m.
Vision, Program Portfolios, and Strategy: Managing Change
1:30–1:45 p.m.
Break
1:45–2:45 p.m.
Leading in the Academy
2:45–3:00 p.m.
What Next? Identifying Action Items for You and Your Institution
3:00 p.m.
Adjournment